Citibank
I have student loans through Citibank - a lot of them. I'm pretty responsible about such things and long before my loans came out of grace period (in early December), I went through the process of consolidating the federal loans and putting the rest on a graduated payment plan. My salary is nice, but not nice enough to handle level payment with as much student loan debt as I have.
When I got my loan statements from Citibank in December (about 15 days before payment was due), I saw that there was no way that I was going to be able to pay that much. So I called them up. It was explained to me that the best thing for me to do would be to put the loans on a 1-month deferral and request to be put on a graduated payment plan. The woman sent me the forms, and I did just that.
Now January comes and I'm issues new statement. Guess what? Some of the loans made it to graduated payment and some did not. Actually, only some made it to deferment and some did not, despite me sending in two sets of forms. And I called Citibank again. This time I spoke with a truly wonderful woman who told me that it was not possible to do what I was trying to do, despite what I was told. She also felt the necessity to remind me that I am responsible for paying my student loans - right, because I'm on the phone with you thinking I can get out of them. And I should have followed up more on the forms - despite having never been told that there were two sets of forms (one of which they apparently never received) and had only filled them out because I was confused. And here's a really good system... when your loans are placed on deferment, they go back into a level repayment plan and supposedly have to remain there for a month. Who thought up that? If I can't afford to make a level payment, why would you ever issue me a statement that said I could. Ohh, and no one can explain to me why some of my loans had already made it into graduated payment, but some did not - some stupid computer rollup thing. Guess what? I'm not a computer and don't care about your bureacracy - just fix my problem.
I clearly got rid of that person, asking to speak to her manager, and got someone else, who told me the only thing I could do was put them on deferment (again!) and she would watch my account to try and get them on graduated payment, but didn't guarantee anything. So she says she'll send me the appropriate paperwork. And I wait. And it doesn't come in the 10-14 days it's supposed to. After 3 weeks (note my payments are due now), I call again - and this woman informs me that I can just download the forms off the website. I do that, fill them out and send them in. A little while later I get a notice saying that it didn't go through - something wrong with the paperwork. When I called to find out what happened, I'm told that I filled out the wrong paperwork and the form I needed to fill out was not available on their website. Frustrated much? To this point (and it doesn't get better), everything these people tells me is a lie.
I then fill out the appropriate paperwork and fax it in (I'm running out of time here - I need to get the payments in before they consider them deliquent). They go through. But my loans are STILL not put on graduated payment when I get my new statement. Now, note that because there's absolutely nothing by my phone call and written statements telling them to do this, I have no idea if my loans are on graduated payment until I get the statements. And once the statements are issued, Citibank refuses to do anything. This cycle helps no one. Ohh, and they issued late fees, even though I was told they wouldn't (lie much?). So, guess what? I CALLED AGAIN. I explain the WHOLE situation to her, and she informs me that there's nothing she can do, but I can put the loans on deferment again. I explain to her that after having done this twice, I do not trust that it's going to solve my problem, and they need to do something different. After getting nowhere with her, I demand to speak with her supervisor. She says he'll call in 24 hours later.
24 hours comes and goes, and no call. So I call again and speak to another manager, explaining that someone was supposed to call me and didn't. She says she doesn't understand why (nevermind that she was the manager I spoke to who never sent me the right forms), but she can have someone else call me (she won't help me either, of course, because they hate me, it seems, and student loans are not as convenient as everyone tells you when you're 17 and deciding where to go to college). This isn't acceptable, because no one called me. I ask to speak to her supervisor: he can only call me back; she can't transfer me. I ask to speak to the woman I spoke to the day before (I had her name): she's in a different office so she can't transfer me. Can I call there? No, it's totally random which office you'll get when you call. I'm getting NOWHERE with these stupid bureacratic policies. So I request that this woman's supervisor call me AND the woman I spoke with the day before. Of course I'll hear from someone else within 24 hours.
I'm sure you'll be very surprised after the wonderful treatment I've received that NO ONE CALLED ME BACK. Seriously, what sort of holes do I have to jump through to get answers? I'm not trying to get out of paying my student loans - I'm trying to pay them and Citibank was fighting me every step of the way. One more time I call them. I get another manager. I explain the situation. Finally, finally she helps me. She tries to find some answers, can't get much, and the only thing is another deferment. But she gives me an administrative deferment, which requires no paperwork, and promises to follow up with me the next month to ensure the loans go on graduated payment. And they are. And she does.
So there is one valuable employee in the Citibank customer service department. Sandy Weill, I hope you're happy with how your company treats alumni of your alma mater, because I sure as hell am not.
When I got my loan statements from Citibank in December (about 15 days before payment was due), I saw that there was no way that I was going to be able to pay that much. So I called them up. It was explained to me that the best thing for me to do would be to put the loans on a 1-month deferral and request to be put on a graduated payment plan. The woman sent me the forms, and I did just that.
Now January comes and I'm issues new statement. Guess what? Some of the loans made it to graduated payment and some did not. Actually, only some made it to deferment and some did not, despite me sending in two sets of forms. And I called Citibank again. This time I spoke with a truly wonderful woman who told me that it was not possible to do what I was trying to do, despite what I was told. She also felt the necessity to remind me that I am responsible for paying my student loans - right, because I'm on the phone with you thinking I can get out of them. And I should have followed up more on the forms - despite having never been told that there were two sets of forms (one of which they apparently never received) and had only filled them out because I was confused. And here's a really good system... when your loans are placed on deferment, they go back into a level repayment plan and supposedly have to remain there for a month. Who thought up that? If I can't afford to make a level payment, why would you ever issue me a statement that said I could. Ohh, and no one can explain to me why some of my loans had already made it into graduated payment, but some did not - some stupid computer rollup thing. Guess what? I'm not a computer and don't care about your bureacracy - just fix my problem.
I clearly got rid of that person, asking to speak to her manager, and got someone else, who told me the only thing I could do was put them on deferment (again!) and she would watch my account to try and get them on graduated payment, but didn't guarantee anything. So she says she'll send me the appropriate paperwork. And I wait. And it doesn't come in the 10-14 days it's supposed to. After 3 weeks (note my payments are due now), I call again - and this woman informs me that I can just download the forms off the website. I do that, fill them out and send them in. A little while later I get a notice saying that it didn't go through - something wrong with the paperwork. When I called to find out what happened, I'm told that I filled out the wrong paperwork and the form I needed to fill out was not available on their website. Frustrated much? To this point (and it doesn't get better), everything these people tells me is a lie.
I then fill out the appropriate paperwork and fax it in (I'm running out of time here - I need to get the payments in before they consider them deliquent). They go through. But my loans are STILL not put on graduated payment when I get my new statement. Now, note that because there's absolutely nothing by my phone call and written statements telling them to do this, I have no idea if my loans are on graduated payment until I get the statements. And once the statements are issued, Citibank refuses to do anything. This cycle helps no one. Ohh, and they issued late fees, even though I was told they wouldn't (lie much?). So, guess what? I CALLED AGAIN. I explain the WHOLE situation to her, and she informs me that there's nothing she can do, but I can put the loans on deferment again. I explain to her that after having done this twice, I do not trust that it's going to solve my problem, and they need to do something different. After getting nowhere with her, I demand to speak with her supervisor. She says he'll call in 24 hours later.
24 hours comes and goes, and no call. So I call again and speak to another manager, explaining that someone was supposed to call me and didn't. She says she doesn't understand why (nevermind that she was the manager I spoke to who never sent me the right forms), but she can have someone else call me (she won't help me either, of course, because they hate me, it seems, and student loans are not as convenient as everyone tells you when you're 17 and deciding where to go to college). This isn't acceptable, because no one called me. I ask to speak to her supervisor: he can only call me back; she can't transfer me. I ask to speak to the woman I spoke to the day before (I had her name): she's in a different office so she can't transfer me. Can I call there? No, it's totally random which office you'll get when you call. I'm getting NOWHERE with these stupid bureacratic policies. So I request that this woman's supervisor call me AND the woman I spoke with the day before. Of course I'll hear from someone else within 24 hours.
I'm sure you'll be very surprised after the wonderful treatment I've received that NO ONE CALLED ME BACK. Seriously, what sort of holes do I have to jump through to get answers? I'm not trying to get out of paying my student loans - I'm trying to pay them and Citibank was fighting me every step of the way. One more time I call them. I get another manager. I explain the situation. Finally, finally she helps me. She tries to find some answers, can't get much, and the only thing is another deferment. But she gives me an administrative deferment, which requires no paperwork, and promises to follow up with me the next month to ensure the loans go on graduated payment. And they are. And she does.
So there is one valuable employee in the Citibank customer service department. Sandy Weill, I hope you're happy with how your company treats alumni of your alma mater, because I sure as hell am not.
posted by Lizzardie at 4:13 PM
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